Dharmasthala-based outfit desilting lakes, reviving water bodies

Bengaluru: The Srikshetra Dharmasthala Rural development Project (SKDRDP) a Dharmasthala based organisation is doing lot of social service in the state. The projects of the SKDRDP have made many changes in the life style of rural and poor people and farmers. The SKDRDP , has now initiated the rehabilitation of lakes across the state. Year after year, with the participation of farmers, it has emphasised on the increase of ground water by removing the silt of hundreds of lakes. The 'Nammuru-Namma Kere'(NNK) project has been successful across the state by reviving more than 500 lakes this year.

The NNK project is the brain child of Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Dr Virendra Hegde. It has now become a household name in rural areas. Without expecting any money from the farmers, hundreds of lakes like fossils are revived and the silt is removed by machines and the fertility of the farmers' fields and lands has also been improved.

The outfit has aimed to develop 575 lakes in the state. Under the project each lake in each taluk will be selected and desilted using machinery. Currently more than 525 lakes have been developed. The target will be reached by the end of March. Currently 149.17 lakh cubic meters of silt has been removed from lakes at cost of Rs 39.37 crore. As a result 340.01 gallons of additional water is being collected. 1.54 lakh acres of agricultural land has been made fertile and 2.47 lakh farmer families have benefited from the scheme. Apart from this, with the help of district administration and taluk administration, 127 acre lake encroachment has also been cleared.

There are more than 35,000 lakes in the state and every year the association selects a lake for each taluk and dredging it with the cooperation of farmers.. This is benefiting the farmers. Along with the water storage, the groundwater level is also increasing. Alluvium is increasing the fertility of the land. Honest work is being done and the dream of Dharmadhikari is coming true. Demand is coming from farmers in all districts of the state J.Chandrasekhar , SKDRDP project director informed.

Every year the area of the lakes is getting silted up and the water storage is also decreasing. In some places small lakes are disappearing due to encroachment. SKDRDP is removing silt with the participation of farmers instead of government assistance. The silt of the lakes of minimum 2 acre to maximum 25 acre area has been removed with the participation of farmers.